Jackson County, North Carolina is Tiny House Friendly

onJune 24, 2016

This is to announce that Jackson County, North Carolina has added a provision to allow tiny houses.

As always, please do more research before jumping the gun or making any serious decisions but it does seem that Jackson County, North Carolina is a tiny house friendly place to live seeing that they’ve acknowledged the tiny house movement.

Has your county embraced or acknowledged tiny houses yet? If so, let us know in the comments. Please enjoy, learn more, and re-share below. Thank you!

Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!

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I think with research and forethought those who want to live with a smaller foot print can and will find areas allowing one to do so. I can name many counties in various states who would allow tiny house but there are no amenities for miles where they allow one to live a smaller life. That is where more voices will help. I for one would not want to live in between two mansions. On the other hand I would not want to live fifty miles form the nearest grocery store or one hundred to the nearest medical facility. Younger people may choose that. Those areas are out there for the more adventurous or those still young enough to live a remote life. Kudos to the areas brave enough to allow differences among themselves.

I agree about living in the middle of nowhere but although Jackson County is rural there are lots of amenities nearby. It is in the mountains so prepare for some cold weather but I think you can find the resources you need in a 15 minute drive from most places. Not a snow bunny myself but my kids live in the same area and love it. Henderson is a great town close by and Asheville is not far either.

Where has Asheville – The Be Yourself Capital of the US – come down on the issue? I would guess it would be right at the forefront of any such movement.

As for me, I live in Saint Petersburg, FL. There are already lots and lots of granny-flats and Mother-in-Law suites all over town. I’m hoping, once I’ve got the money together to take the plunge, that the city will allow me to build in my back yard. A family, directly across the street from me, did it already [complete with a humanure-able composting toilet! In the city!] But their house is 500 sq ft. My goal is 360 so I’m still holding my breath. If/when I get an answer from the city, I’ll post it here. I DO know that some existing granny flats in town are considerably less than 500 sq feet – even less than 360 – so hope springs eternal . . . .

I read the building code brochure within this article. Although Jackson may tolerate tiny homes, it appears they have restrictions in place that require permits as well as proper electric and water hookup to city utilities. Evan as an RV, park model or trailer, they do not allow off grid living. Another important detailnisvthst they do not allow permanent residents in a tiny house. Seems they still have a ways to go yet. Too many fingers in the process.

It really irks me that they don’t allow off-grid living. Who the heck are they to force people to be economically tied to these crooked utility companies? REALLY burns my toast! We need serious change in this country; fundamental change, like they work for us, not the other way around.

This is a joke. Read the information . They aren’t allowing anything. It’s the same code with the same rules. Minimum room size and ceiling height, no permanent residence in non-foundation structures, no permanent hookups on non-foundation structures. It’s the SAME residential code. It says tiny in the title and that’s it… don’t be fooled…

Makes perfect sense. If you want permanent residence in a tiny home, it needs to meet the same minimum building guidelines. The codes are there for a reason, and most of them make a lot of sense if you step back and look at the big picture. If you want to build a motor vehicle that you can license and drive on the highway, and possibly sell in the future, you must meet specs. Same thing for building codes. Other jurisdictions that are reducing requirements are doing so at long term peril to their citizens – we’ve already established these things for a reason.

So why can’t there be specs for tiny homes? There are quality tiny homes that are better built than some homes I’ve seen. Maybe the building and plans people don’t want to bother having to come up with the legalities, or bother with deciding what should be inspected.